Who ARE You?
by Hisa-Ai
Summary: When one of your best friends has to leave your side, you bid them farewell thinking when you see them again they'll be the same person they always were, but what if they're not? How do you deal with it when you don't recognize who you thought they were?
1. Who's That Character?

Honestly, I don't know what I want to do with this fic or where I want it to go, but I do know that I want it to be Pokeshipping, because really now, who can't tell that Ash and Misty were meant to be together? Granted, I'd prefer old school cocky Ash, complete with the hat turning and the silly-but totally awesome-poses, but maybe Misty likes this Ash? No, I wouldn't either... Maybe, at the very least, she can snap him back into his old self...

Anyway, there's a couple of other Pokemon fanfics that I've got in the works, one that takes place in Unova and focuses on Pokeshipping-kind of like this one in that sense-and another that takes place in Pallet and still kind of focuses on Pokeshipping, but also includes ContestShipping, PenguinShipping, and mentions of DaisyTracey-I can't for the life of me remember what that one's called...-and I know exactly where I'm going with that one, I just have to find the time to type up the first chapter or two...

Anywho, since they never really mention the characters' ages in the series-and I refuse to believe that Ash is still ten-I've come up with how old the characters are going to be in my fics. Quite honestly, the ages are probably going to be consistant in all of my Pokemon FanFics, but I'll let you guys know what the ages are all the time anyway... **And**, on top of that, I've decided that I'm going to actually come up with names for the chapters in this fic, to challenge myself in a way, 'cause I've never really been good with chapter titles...

**Character Ages:**

Ash-16

Iris-13

Cilan-18

**Song of the Day**: "The Only Exception" ~Paramore~

**Quote of the Day**: "If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, I shall not live in vain."

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Pokemon. I used to want to, but not so much anymore; new school Pokemon kind of sucks.

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><p>"Mmm, Castelia City, home of my next badge!" Ash Ketchum-a boy older than his years who had, like most kids at the time, set out on a journey with his very first Pokemon at age ten, traveled around numerous regions, collected badge upon badge, battled Trainer upon Trainer, entered league upon league, made friend upon friend and rival upon rival, caught Pokemon upon Pokemon, helped person upon person, and, let's not forget, saved the world a few times, too. It had been a few years since he first left his home-town of Pallet back in the Kanto region with Pikachu on his quest to become a Pokemon Master, but somehow that spark that always had him running from town to town looking for the next battle or his next badge had stayed lit. Sure, at one point it grew weak, but he was here in the Unova region now, and that spark was lit and growing like a wild fire. He had a feeling Unova was going to be a big region for him, a big adventure. And he was so ready for it; that enthusiasm masking his grievance over losing his long-time companion Brock to Doctor School. Though it was a bit of a bitter-sweet moment, he was actually kind of happy that Dawn wasn't around anymore...-exclaimed and threw his fist in the air. Pikachu jumped up onto his hat excitedly, it was ready for this, too. Actually, it couldn't wait; Ash hadn't been this excited about gym battles since... Well, the Battle Frontier didn't technically count as Gym battles, but that was really the last time Ash had gotten this excited about something, other than Dawn leaving, of course, but Pikachu didn't count that; it too had been happy to be rid of the whiny, spoiled brat that slept in a tent and wore such a short skirt at such a young age...<p>

Iris-a bit of a smug child who Ash met shortly after arriving in Unova and deciding to travel around collecting Gym Badges. She herself was traveling around her home region of Unova for reasons actually unknown to Ash, but he had the vague feeling it had something to do with her Axew wanting to evolve fully into a Haxorus-and Cilan-a former Gym Leader of Striaton City who decided to travel with Ash and Iris after his defeat at the hands of Ash for the Trio Badge. Also a Pokemon Sommeliar, and not a half-bad cook-smiled at his enthusiasm. Typical Ash, ready to run right to the next battle no matter what time of day it was...

"You're such a kid!" Iris smirked, down-casting Ash's mood slightly; why did she always call him that? He was older than she was, and more experienced and better with Pokemon. If anyone was a kid, it was Iris, but he didn't really care enough about her to point that out; arguing with her just didn't seem worth it. If it had been Misty, you bet he would've been yelling his lungs off trying to make his point. Granted, Misty _was_ older than him, making the whole thing a moot point, but still, he would've stuck to his guns, because arguing with Misty had been fun... Hell, even May would've gotten a rise out of him, but she had been like a close younger sister, so arguing with her was just part of the deal of traveling with her. Dawn... eh, she was more like an annoying stalker, so he saw no point in arguing with her all too much; it wasn't very entertaining. And then there was Iris... She was just... There. Ash Ketchum _needed _human companionship just as much as he needed Pokemon companionship, so he let her hang around, same thing with Cilan, though _he_ didn't get on Ash's nerves, not that Iris did, not like Misty always had...

What was the point he had been trying to make to himself? Oh, yeah: He was not a kid! Damnit, he'd saved the world on more than one occasion and she was calling him a kid! Okay, so she hadn't been there when it happened, big whoop, it still happened. If it wasn't for him, they all would've been dead long ago, but she wouldn't believe him; she'd just smirk in that damn condescending way of hers and call him a kid again.

"It's almost dark now, so we should go to the Pokemon Center and find a place to spend the night. The gym's probably closed by now, anyway. And if it's not, it will be soon." She stated oh-so helpfully. Bite me, Ash thought to himself, noting that no real Gym Leader would ever close their Gym to challengers just because it was getting a little dark out. Misty wouldn't. In fact, Misty _didn't_.

"Fine, but first thing in the morning I'm finding the Gym and I'm getting the Beetle Badge!" Never mind the fact that that name was completely lame, he still wanted it, he still needed it. With a name like "Beetle Badge," Ash could only assume there would be bug types, which he could easily take on with his Tepig, but then the battle would end fast, and what fun would that be? Okay, so he should keep Tepig handy just in case, but not start out with it. To start the match off, how about Pikachu?

"The Gyms aren't even open "first thing in the morning," you'll have to wait until around ten..." Right, he forgot that Unova Gym Leaders were total pansies...

"Iris, you shouldn't call him a kid all the time, you'll give him a complex..." Cilan chided. He was a lame Brock replacement, Ash would admit, but he wasn't trying to replace Brock, or Misty, and, even if he wanted to, he couldn't; no one could replace his best friends.

"But he is one!" Iris whined, looking around at all the tall buildings. Castelia City was the biggest city in the Unova region-hell, it was the biggest city in the whole world-so it would be very easy to get lost in, not that Ash had a hard time getting lost in the small ones as it was. They could spend _hours_ wandering around, looking for the Pokemon Center, and then they'd have to go find somewhere to spend the night, which could take them all night... Ash would probably _have_ to set out first thing in the morning to just _find_ the Gym, then battling the Gym Leader, and getting back to the Pokemon Center would take him the whole day probably...

"You're younger than me and I don't call you a kid all the time, now do I?" Cilan pointed out, at least Ash had _someone_ on his side...

"No, but-"

"But nothing, Iris. How would your father feel if he knew you were constantly putting down one of his future challengers?"

"My father-"

"Wait! You _know _her _father?_" Ash snickered, _finally_, something to shut her up! _Something_ to use against her! Cilan knew her father! How great-how perfect-was that? Wait, how did he know her father? And what was that bit about a future challenger?

"Of course. I know all the Gym Leaders of the Unova region. You should know that-Haven't you traveled with Gym Leaders before?" Ash had briefly mentioned his old traveling companions to these two in passing one afternoon when they were all having lunch. "Briefly" meaning that he'd mentioned their names, their status, and where they were from.

"Yeah, Brock and Misty were Gym Leaders over in Kanto, May and Max are Gym Leader Kids from over in Hoenn, and Dawn... is neither. She's a Coordinator's kid and a wanna-be coordinator-What does that have to do with anything?" Cue sweat-drop. If either of them had been traveling with Ash for very long, they would have expected such a reply, but they honestly thought he was just playing dumb and stopped in the middle of the busy road, causing numerous irritated business men and women to swerve and change paths so they wouldn't bump into the group of, shall we say, companions.

Iris and Cilan both gave Ash long looks, half-expecting him to crack into a smile and tell them he was just kidding and that he knew what Cilan meant, but when he didn't, and just looked at them confusingly like: "What the hell is wrong with you two?" Iris smirked that condescending smirk of hers as Cilan began to explain:

"Iris' dad is a Gym Leader here in Unova, Ash; that would be how I know him." They began walking again down Castelia Street; though Ash now had question upon question, Cilan didn't give him a chance to ask any of them yet, as he kept talking. "He runs the Gym over in Opelucid City. Dragon types, if I recall correctly. In fact, I think Iris' Axew is the kid of her father's Haxorus..." Cilan stared off thoughtfully, wondering to himself if he was getting that right. Never mind the fact that neither Misty nor Brock would ever give away something like that about a fellow Gym Leader to a challenger way ahead of time, Ash had just gotten some serious juice on Iris: Her father. If he were the vengeful type, this would be very bad information for him to have...

"Cilan! Why would you tell him that?" Iris hissed, he would have found out sooner or later anyway, but Iris _so_ would have preferred later... Way, way later, like when Ash actually got to that Gym, and since it was the eighth gym, that wouldn't be for a while, giving Iris the false hope that he would never find out...

"Oh, look at that: We're at the Pokemon Center," Cilan rushed inside to escape Iris' wrath, though Cilan was getting off lucky as far as Ash was concerned, if that was Misty, she would have _killed_ him... But it wasn't Misty, it was just Iris, some Gym Leader's kid, no better than May or Max in that sense, though in the sense of battling and training Pokemon and being a good person, she was way worse than them. And her bark wasn't even worse than her bite-the two sucked equally, so it was a bad comparison all around, granted, but it was a comparison Ash found himself making nonetheless as the two entered the Pokemon Center and got behind Cilan in line to see Nurse Joy.

The small argument was quickly forgotten, not that it was worth remembering anyway, and the three stood in line quietly, wondering how exactly they had managed to find the Pokemon Center when they weren't even looking, just wondering around aimlessly. When Ash had used a map in years past, he had gotten lost on _so_ many occasions, and when he was looking for certain things, he could never actually find them... Why had they even used maps at all? None of them had been any good at reading them-Even Brock had gotten them lost on several occasions-so why did they even pretend? Because a couple of kids wandering around without a map would just look stupid, that's why. Plus, his mom would yell at him if she found out he'd done something so irresponsible...

Soon enough they all left the matter alone, deciding that they'd found the place and that was all that mattered, and just stood there in silence, listening to conversations going on around them, one in particular catching all their ears:

"Oh, please, please, please! You just have to battle me! I'm sure you have some mega rare Pokemon that I've only ever seen on TV and it would be so cool to see them in person, to battle them! Please, you're a Gym Leader; you _have_ to battle me! It's, like, a law, isn't it?"

"Um, no, I don't think it's a law. And anyway, I'm not a Gym Leader anymore; my sisters took over. Again."

"Fine, you don't have to give me a badge when I win-"

"''Win?'' What makes you think you'll win?"

"Please, I've done my research on all the Gym Leaders everywhere, and you, you specialize in Water Types, which means I'll be able to wipe the floor with you with my Blitzle, an Electric type."

"There's more to winning battles than just types, you cocky punk."

"Pft! As if! What could be more important in a battle than types? If you have the advantage-like I would in our battle-you win. If you have a disadvantage-like you would-then you lose. Easy as poffin."

"You idiot! So, by your logic, what would happen if we both used the same Pokemon? Same types, right? Who would win then? Me, who trusts my Pokemon and believes in their abilities and strengths and their power as a whole and not just as what type they are, or you, a smug little bastard who relies on type to decide the battle?"

"..."

"That's what I thought. You want a battle so badly? Fine, I'll give you a battle, let's go!"

"Now? But it's getting dark out... I was hoping for a battle around noon tomorrow..."

"You're trying to _schedule _our battle? Nope, you want this battle it's gonna happen right now! Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark! You have Pokemon, you idiot, if anything happens you can use them. Arceus, I bet you sleep in a tent with a night-light when you camp out, don't you? Or do you not sleep in the woods? You make a Beedrill Line for the first house you see at the first sign of darkness, don't you? Pansy... Go outside and get ready, I'll be there to wipe that smirk off your face in a minute..."

A boy walked by the three looking slightly frightened, what had he gotten himself into? All he wanted was a battle with a pretty Gym Leader from a far-off land, was that too much to ask for? Who would've thought she had a temper like that? Her bio hadn't said anything about it. If it had, he would've stayed the hell away from her, but now he had to battle her; he didn't know what she'd do to him if he tried to back out...

"Cocky, dumb-ass, punk... Can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face for good..." Ash's eyes automatically swirled over to see the ex-Gym Leader the poor sap had gotten himself into a battle with and froze when he saw her. Red hair in a side-of-the-head ponytail, brown boots, yellow shirt and shorts over a maroon swimsuit, a green backpack, long, slender legs, and long muscular arms wrapped around an egg of some sort inside a container... Could it be...? Either it was, or he was imagining things. He prayed it was the former...

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><p>Hmm, who, oh who, could this girl be? If that temper didn't give it away and the red hair didn't, I don't know what will. Plus, the main shipping, of course, ought to give it away. Hey, just out of curiousity, what's the name of the AshIris shipping? I would never in a million years support that, but I'd just like to know...<p>

Anyone else get the impression that Misty, were she present, would totally bitch-slap Iris? I just get the feeling that she would. They'd be talking and Iris would call her or Ash a kid or whatever and she'd just reach over and bitch-slap her so hard her Axew would be feeling it when it's a Haxorus. Oh, the fun they would have... *Sigh* They seriously need to bring back Misty. Anyone else disappointed that Pikachu didn't fry Iris' bike? Seriously, that pissed me off.

So after Ash is finally done with Unova, what do you think they're going to do with Iris and Cilan?

So much to say, so little time...

Peace out and Happy Easter.

~Hisa-Ai~


	2. Is It Really You?

**Character Ages:**

Ash-16

Iris-13

Cilan-18

Adrian-12

Misty-16

**SOTD; 6/5/11**: "Stay Together" ~Pokemon~

**QOTD; 6/5/11**: "Two wrongs don't make a right, but they make a good excuse."

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon, thank you very much.

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><p>Misty let out some air as she watched the boy walk out of the Pokemon Center; she could sense his oncoming fear and anxiety that she was sure would be palpable once night set in. Part of her wanted to do a complex and tiring six-on-six battle just to put the punk in his place, but she was already so exhausted! He just didn't seem worth the extra effort. Maybe a three-on-three? No, she glanced beyond a group of kids waiting in line for their turn with Nurse Joy out to the world beyond, it was <em>this<em> close to being nighttime and Adrian, the kid she was about to battle, wouldn't be very good company once the darkness set in. Fine, a simple one-on-one would have to suffice. He had said he'd done his research and that he planned on using a Blitzle, an electric type, but what did he plan on doing if she used her Corsola, a water/rock type?

She started walking toward the door-might as well get this over with-but stopped suddenly when her eyes absent-mindedly fell on one of the boys she'd just over-looked as some random kid, he looked so familiar... She'd never seen the outfit before, but the dark hair sticking out in complete disorder from under the hat atop his head, the way he was standing there, so confident of himself, the very familiar looking Pikachu that sat perched comfortably and curiously on his shoulder, all of it set off bells in her head that rang "Ash Ketchum! Ash Ketchum! Ash Ketchum!" but that couldn't be him, could it? He had to be much much older by now, barely a few months younger than her, and this boy looked so young, but he looked so much like him... Could she be seeing things now? Could she be so tired she was hallucinating? If that was the case, was it so wise for her to be battling right now? Oh, whatever! That kid wanted a battle and a battle he was going to get.

"Misty?" The boy asked, moving forward slightly. The Pikachu moved to the top of his head slowly, glancing at her with wide eyes. Neither of them could believe this, it was Misty! Misty, their best friend who helped him train to be all that he could be in a battle. Misty, who traveled with them all the way up until her sisters called her back to the Gym after the Silver Conference. Misty, who he was-

"Ash? No way! Is that really you?" She closed the distance between the two and found herself smiling and holding her egg closer to her chest. He said her name and she just... reacted. She hadn't been sure it was really him and if it wasn't-if he was just some random dude who she had battled at the Gym once who recognized her-she was going to be so embarrassed!

"Yeah, of course it's me, who else would it be?" He asked, scratching his head as Pikachu jumped over onto Misty's egg container and began to rubbing up against her cheek. She giggled and said "hi." to it. She wanted to scratch behind its ears just like it had always liked, she wanted to bombard the pair with question upon question, she wanted to demand to know why he hadn't called to tell her he was going to be hitting the Unova region, she wanted to challenge him to a battle, she wanted to see any badges he'd earned, she wanted to know what happened to the girl that had been traveling with him before, she wanted to know why he hadn't told her Brock wasn't going to be traveling with him anymore, she wanted to do so much in the moment, but most of all she wanted to know why in Mew's name he looked like a freaking five year old!

"Geez, Ash, I forget, _how _old are you?" She smirked at him as he scowled at her slightly, a small smile plaguing him quickly after-wards and ruining the look he was going for. Oh, well. He couldn't be mad at her so soon anyway; this was Misty and he couldn't believe she was here! A normal, more curious person in this situation might think to ask _why_ she was in the Unova region and not back in Cerulean City at the Gym over in the Kanto Region, but this was Ash Ketchum dealing with the return of one of his best friends, surely, such thoughts would be expected to escape his mind.

"Ha, ha, just _what_ are you implying, Mist?"

"Ooh, "imply," huh? Big word for such a little kid. Someone wants to be a big boy now, doesn't he?" She mocked him in a babyish tone, if she had a free hand, they both knew she would have pinched his cheeks just to add to the affect she was going for. Pikachu giggled slightly and perched itself on Misty's shoulder, twitching its tail back and forth behind her, swishing against the back of her neck in a sort of way that made her neck itch and tickle at once, yet at the same time relieved the feeling.

"I am NOT a little kid!" Ash hissed, unbeknownst to her, she was wandering into enemy territory. Iris called him a kid at least three times a day, if not more, and it didn't mean much when she said it-okay, so it got annoying, big whoop. He didn't want to bite her head off about it when she did it-but when Misty said it, it held a completely different meaning. The two cases were different entirely. For starters, Iris was three years younger than Ash so it was mere empty words that showed just how immature she really could be, but Misty was actually older than Ash, so the words stung a bit; if she was calling him a "little kid" was that how she always saw him? Was that all he would ever be to her? Some little kid barely worth the time of day? He... he didn't like that! He didn't want to be seen as some little kid, not to her. He wanted her to see him as the young man that he was... So, when she did it, he fought back-how could he not? Misty always had been good at lighting a fire under him. Whether it was a battle, an argument, or just getting to the next town quicker, two minutes with Misty and whatever they were doing would get done quicker if Ash Ketchum had anything to say about it-but if he really thought about it, he would realize that arguing like the two did proved that both of them were little kids, at least when they were around each other. But he couldn't see that and, quite honestly, he probably didn't want to.

"Ooh, _someone's _defensive!" Misty giggled. And for a second, it almost looked like they would get into one of their nororious arguments just like they always had in the past, but then Misty pulled back slightly, straightening herself up. Ash tilted his head slightly, curious. He had actually been looking forward to getting into in with her again, he needed to let off the steam he'd gathered getting psyched for a Gym battle that wasn't going to happen until the next day. And if he went to bed with all that steam, he wouldn't fall asleep until ten minutes before he had to get up, and a sleepy Ash was a cranky Ash, and a cranky Ash was off his game for the whole day. Plus, he really did miss arguing with her. He didn't care how twisted that might seem to anyone else, it was just how he felt. But, what he could never get a grip on, was _why_. Why did he like arguing with her? Why did he like getting her all worked up and yelling at him, all in his face? Why did he like exchanging heated, sometimes hurtful words with her? Why did he miss it so much that it hurt? Why? Why didn't he understand?

"I'd love to argue with you, Ash-Ho-Oh knows we've always been good at it-but the thing is..." She bit her lip slightly, contemplating whether or not she should go through with it that night. Adrian would probably be more on his game if they did it during the middle of the day, but on the other hand, he might be better now because he'd want to get it over with fast so he could get in out of the dark... "I've kind of got a battle waiting for me outside."

"Yeah, I heard." He chuckled, recalling how she had practically bitten the kid's head off when he tried to get her to push off the battle until the next day. Poor kid didn't know what he'd gotten himself into. "I bet you've got all kinds of new tricks up your sleeves from battling at the Gym these past few years-Mind if we watch?" He asked hopefully as Pikachu's ears perked up at the question. Misty smiled slightly, she had been hoping he would ask.

"Of course not. It'll be fun, just like old times."

"Right, just like old times. Only," Ash nodded towards Cilan and Iris, remembering that they were there for the first time since he first spotted her. He didn't mean to, but seeing Misty like that just kind of... Distracted him and took him to a place outside of himself for a few minutes. He wasn't exactly back yet, but he wasn't just going to leave them there while he ran off to watch her battle. "No Brock."

Misty nodded like it wasn't much of a surprise to her to hear that, and in fact, it wasn't. She had seen Brock on her way through Pewter City and he had told her he wasn't going to be traveling with Ash anymore. It was a bit of a shock, yes, because Brock had been there since the beginning, only leaving for a little while for that little stint with Professor Ivy while she, Ash, and Tracey traveled around the Orange Islands. He rejoined them after that while Tracey stayed behind in Pallet Town to work with Professor Oak, and together the three explored Johto. Then he went through Hoenn, the Battle Frontier, and then Sinnoh with Ash, May and Max, and then Dawn respectively. After he told her how his goals had changed and how he realized what he really wanted to do, she understood completely, but she realized it still must have been weird for Ash to start over in a new region and start traveling with completely different people; it must have reminded him of what it was like when he first started his journey, the only real difference being that he was a bit older now.

"Right, Brock's back in Pewter, must be weird to travel without his delicious cooking, and Entei knows _you_ can't cook-how have you been eating all this time? Did Brock teach Pikachu how to cook before he left? How else could you survive this long without him?"

"Ha-ha," Ash stuck his tongue out at her as she winked at Pikachu. "For your information, Cilan's not a half-bad cook himself."

"'Not half-bad'?" Cilan quoted, more than a little annoyed. From the way Ash usually wolfed it down, he had assumed he quite enjoyed his cooking, but calling it "not half-bad" kind of threw him off. When eating it and comparing it to nothing but itself and Cilan's past cooking it was good, but when comparing it to Brock's it was "not half-bad"? Geez, this Brock guy must be some cook!

"Not going to introduce me to your new friends here?" Misty asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Ash rubbed the back of his neck and moved so he was standing next to her and facing Iris and Cilan. Cilan looked offended but put on a smile and Iris looked amused and... angry? Why was she angry?

"Right, sorry," Ash shook his head and smiled widely, he couldn't let Iris and Cilan get to him and ruin his mood. He was standing beside _Misty_, of all people! He should be happy! He should be ecstatic! But, for some reason, he wasn't as happy as he always thought he'd be should this ever happen. "Misty, this is Cilan, one of the former Gym Leaders from Striaton City, and this is Iris, the daughter of the Gym Leader from Opelucid City. Guys, this is Misty, one of my best friends and the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym back over in Kanto." He introduced, doing his hands out as he spoke.

"_Ex_-Gym Leader, actually-Don't you ever listen, Ash?" She asked, shaking hands with Cilan then Iris with one hand while she held her egg close with the other. The two girls locked eyes, Iris' glare catching Misty off guard, but she had no problem glaring right back, with much more intensity. They gripped hands and it looked like, for a brief second, each of them was going to say something, but then Axew popped its head out of Iris' thick hair and cried out its name, breaking the moment of hostility.

"This is Axew." Iris stated coldly, pulling her hand back. Misty smiled at it, cooing about how cute it was as she fixed her hold on her egg.

Pikachu, having noticed the whole exchange between Misty and Iris, twitched its ears confusingly and asked, "Pika, pika-chu?" Ash turned toward it and scratched the back of his neck, confused himself; he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary in Misty and Iris' meeting.

"What was what, buddy?" He asked. Both Pikachu and Misty shook their head at him, if he hadn't caught it when it was happening, he wasn't going to understand it if they tried explaining it to him. He shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to Misty. "What do you mean "_Ex_-Gym Leader"?"

"Later. If I don't get out there now the kid just might bail. You two are welcome to come, too, if you want." She extended the invitation to Iris and Cilan, trying to be civil towards them, though why did she get the feeling it was going to be extremely difficult to do that with Iris? Why had she glared at her? They'd only just met so why the hostility? Ugh, she didn't have time to try to sort out why some little girl would already be pissed at her, she needed to get into battle mode, and if she was preoccupied with this Iris chick and why she was mad at her, how was she going to focus?

"You guys should come, you'll get to see Misty in action; it'll be fun!" Ash added, smiling goofily. Cilan smiled back slightly and agreed to come watch, even volunteering to be the referee for the battle. When Ash looked to Iris, his eyes so full of happiness and wonder, she reluctantly agreed to go watch as well. So they left their place in line and walked outside, Misty and Ash in front chatting away about nothing in particular but at the same time everything that had happened since they last saw each other, leaving Cilan and Iris to follow them, Iris staring daggers at the back of Misty's head.

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><p>Originally, I had this really immature really awesome argument between Ash and Misty planned out for this chapter, but I wasn't really satisfied with how the chapter was playing out before, so I just deleted the whole thing and started over and this is just what it turned out to be instead. No argument for Ash and Misty quite yet. Maybe in a later chapter, though I'm not even sure how many there's going to be...<p>

I suppose you could consider this chapter rather boring since not a lot happens, but whatever. I guess you could just say I was setting the stage for what's to come later on.

Ash can understand Pikachu by this point, can't he? Well, in this fic he can. But for those of you who can't and who are incapable of putting two and two together, I shall translate what Pikachu said in this chapter:

"Pika, pika-chu?" means, "What was that?"

I used the names of three different legendaries in this chapter by my count. "Ho-Oh knows," "Entei knows," "Why in Mew's name," I'm going to try and use as many different legendaries as I can in that way. It's not going to be in any particular order, whichever name pops into my head at the moment will be the one I use in the sentence, unless I've already used that one in which case it will be whichever comes after that one. Mew was the first one I used because when I think Pokemon legendaries the first one I think of is Mew. Then I used Ho-Oh 'cause Ash saw Ho-Oh in the very beginning before we ever knew what it was and I just thought it was the coolest thing as a kid. And then there's Entei 'cause of the movie with the Unown in it and the little girl and the Entei that kidnaps Ash's mother. I like that movie, it's one of my favorites. I don't know if I'll be using any of the legendaries from the Unova region though, 'cause, quite honestly, I don't really like them much.

Damn, now all I can think about are the Pokemon movies. The best one was, by far, the first one. And the worst one was Destiny Deoxys. The first seven are all amazing, and then Destiny Deoxys happened. And that's just something that is extmely difficult to recover from. I'll admit, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was pretty decent and the name is really fun to say, but I kind of get the feeling that the movie part of the franchise will never be the same again. Prince of the Sea was okay. The Rise of Darkrai was decent, though it would've been better without Dawn there-just saying-. Giratina and the Sky Warrior was... That Shaymin _really_ pissed me off, you know? Seriously, Pikachu should have Volt Tackled it. Arceus and the Jewl of Life... Eh. And then Zoroark: Master of Illusions... Oi. It was okay, but to me it just kept going and going on and on... After Prince of the Sea, the movies just didn't hold my attention like they used to.

I'm still debating whether or not I should include the battle in the next chapter or just skip over it. We all know who wins, obviously, it's just a matter of _how_.

Iris and Cian didn't have much to say here and Ash just totally forgot about them for a while... I'll try and do more with the two in the next chapter, but Ash and Misty are the main focus of this Fic, so I won't do _too_ much with them. Plus, the way Cilan talks... I'll try my best, I will, but Connoisseur Boy is just going to have to deal with whatever lines I come up with for him, whether or not he likes it is out of my hands.

What kind of egg do you think Misty has? Where did she even _get_ an egg?

Peace out,

~Hisa-Ai~


	3. What's wrong?

**A quick note to the anon reviewer A Fan**: Yes, yes I do know that Misty has an Azurill. I've seen pretty much every episode of Pokemon there is-Even the Japanese uncut versions of most of the banned episdes-and if it had Misty in it, you can be damn sure that I've seen it a few times.

**Character Ages:**

Ash-16

Iris-13

Cilan-18

Misty-16

**SOTD 6/7/11: "**He Drives Me Crazy" ~Pokemon~

**QOTD 6/7/11: "**Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Pokemon. I don't. Really, I don't. If I did, do you think I would bother wasting my time with schoolwork? Hell, no. I'd be using my time more efficiently, but since I don't own Pokemon, I kind of have to waste my time on school work. *Sigh* What a drag...

* * *

><p>Misty's battle with Adrian came and went in a matter of ten minutes. It was Adrian's Blitzle versus Misty's Corsola and, though at first Misty wanted to <em>destroy<em> the kid when he started calling her Corsola "weak" and "pathetic" in an attempt to get his Blitzle fired up, she settled for merely beating him after Ash reminded her from the sidelines that she hadn't always been the _best _challenger when they had been traveling together. After the match ended and Cilan declared Misty the winner, Adrian recalled Blitzle and ran off into the Pokemon Center, not even giving Misty the chance to shake his hand and comment on what a "good battle" it had been-not that she would have meant it or anything, she just had the manners of a Gym Leader after a battle and would have done so purely on instinct. She shrugged at his retreating figure and walked deliberately over to where Ash and Iris were sitting with her egg and backpack in between them.

As she walked toward them and Corsola ran ahead to greet Pikachu, she saw Ash as he had been when she and Brock left him the first time, some punk twelve-almost thirteen-year old with a cocky smirk and a dream too big for him to let go of, she even saw his original outfit! And when he spoke to congratulate her, for a second, he even _sounded_ twelve again. Wishful thinking on her part perhaps; she just wanted things to be as they had been back then. She wanted these two to leave, she wanted Brock to come back, she wanted to continue traveling with Ash and forget about the three years she'd spent at the Gym, but she didn't have a time machine and she didn't have a Celebi, so that was near impossible. She couldn't go back, but she could go forward, and who knows, maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't be so bad now.

They talked about the battle and the strategy she had used, Cilan commenting that she was better than most of the Trainers he'd seen visit the Gym in his day. Ash gave him a 'duh' look and said, "Of course she's better than most of the Unova Trainers you've seen; she's Misty." Which made Cilan look taken aback and Misty look surprised, he'd never used that tone-that "What the fuck are you talking about, you idiot?" tone-with anyone but Gary as far as she knew, and Gary had been one of his biggest rivals back in the day, but Cilan was supposed to be one of his friends now, right? Why would he talk like that to him?

Iris mostly sat there and listened to the conversation, making snide remarks under her breath that only Pikachu, Axew, and Corsola were aware of. Pikachu and Corsola weren't particularly fond of the remarks as they all were aimed at Misty and were none too nice, but Axew just ignored them, Iris was its Trainer, after all. No one else seemed to notice her sullenness, as they were busy chatting away with Misty, though mostly it was Ash and Misty doing the talking and Cilan nodding and giving little courtesy remarks whenever he was allowed a word in edge wise.

Right before Ash was about to start asking about what had been bothering him since he first saw Misty in the Pokemon Center, his stomach growled, causing Misty to chuckle about how "some things never change." He glared at her, but she just ignored it as she explained there was a restaurant near the hotel she was staying in that had pretty decent food. At the mention of the word "hotel" Cilan, Ash, and Iris all perked up at once and admitted that they had yet to find a place to stay the night. Misty shook her head and asked if they had gotten lost among the tall buildings and the crowds when they first arrived.

"Um... Kind of..." Ash chuckled nervously, he knew Misty would give him hell about it, she always did blame him whenever they got lost, but he didn't mind, he just wanted to keep the conversation going; he missed talking to her like this. He missed sitting next to her talking about Pokemon and battle strategies, he missed her blaming him for everything, he missed her mallet, he missed her dragging Brock away by the ear whenever he flirted with anyone of the opposite gender...

"Still haven't learned to read a map, I see... Doesn't matter, I know how to get back to the hotel from here and I think there might be a few empty rooms you guys could probably get. The lady at the front desk said they only had doubles left, so that's what I've got; one of you could probably stay with me and the other two could get a room probably near mine..." She trailed off, her finger on her chin. Iris probably wouldn't want to share a room with Cilan or Ash alone, so then she could share Misty's room and the boys could get a separate room near them. But then, from what Misty could pick up on, Iris didn't really like her much, so maybe her and Cilan could share a room while her and Ash shared hers? Just the thought of sharing a room with him alone made her heart speed up. There were two separate beds, of course, but that wasn't the point...

"Well, it's dark, so maybe we should go see if we can get a room before they all get taken." Cilan suggested, standing up. The others agreed and all stood up as well. Misty recalled her Corsola and returned its Pokeball to her backpack with the others; she hitched it up and grabbed her egg, leading the others silently through the streets of Castelia City until they came upon a building no different from the others-tall, gray, and modern. There was a sign on the front that read "Castelia Hotel" but aside from that, it would be hard to distinguish it from any other building in the city unless you were looking at the sign itself.

Cilan went to the front desk alone and got the room number and key-it was right next door to Misty's-he pocketed the key and then the group made their way to the restaurant Misty had told them about. They were seated and looking at menus when finally Ash remembered

"So, Misty, what are you doing here in the Unova region; it's a long way from Cerulean, don't 'cha think?" He asked. They were sitting at a booth-the last one available, as it was the dinner rush. At first, when Ash went and asked for a table, the hostess had said it would be a ten minute wait, but then when Misty came up and asked what was taking so long, the hostess recognized her as being _the_ Misty, as in _the_ Cerulean City Gym Leader, and immediately seated them at a booth away from prying eyes with a complimentary basket of cheese sticks and some marinara sauce, plus Cokes for all four of them and some Pokemon food for Pikachu and Axew, all in exchange for an autograph. Ash, Misty, Pikachu, and Misty's egg were on one side, while Axew, Cilan, and Iris were on the other.

"Right, I completely forgot about that," She picked up a cheese stick and dipped it in the sauce before taking a bite, slowly chewing it, swallowing, washing it down with a sip of Coke, and turning back to the menu. She knew he would think to ask eventually, but the thing was... She wasn't sure she wanted to answer him. If she said aloud what had happened, she would have to deal with it and she didn't know that she was ready to deal with it just yet, she didn't know that she was ready to accept to magnitude of everything that had happened. She didn't like change, and this was seriously a big change that shook her whole world and turned it upside down. She just didn't know anymore, she didn't seem to know anything at all...

"Misty, everything okay? Did something happen?" Ash asked softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled softly at him, a small gasp escaping his lips as she looked into his eyes. He wasn't some little kid anymore or a prepubescent punk, he was a young man. He had grown up since she last saw him; he had grown up and left her behind. He had new traveling companions, he had new friends, he had new Pokemon, and he had new memories. And with each new memory he made, surely he forgot, little by little, all about her and all the memories they made together in the past. With each new step he took down his own road, he was leaving her in the dust and forgetting all about her. Soon enough, he wouldn't even be able to remember her name. She was foolish to think otherwise. She was foolish to think that this was her chance to reconnect with him and that this was her chance to say what she'd always wanted to say.

She threw the menu down and stood abruptly. "I... I have to go. I'll see you later..." And without a look back, she walked off, leaving her backpack, egg, and all her Pokemon behind next to Ash.

"Pika-pi, Pikachu, pika?" Pikachu asked, perching itself on the edge of the table and looking off at Misty's retreating figure. Ash stared off after her as well, completely conflicted. He wanted to go after her, but he got the feeling that him being near her was the last thing she wanted at the moment. But what did he do? All he'd done was ask her about why she wasn't at the Gym and then when she seemed as though she was upset, he put his hand on her shoulder and asked if she was okay-He'd done nothing wrong. Nothing to piss her off or upset her in any way, so what was wrong with her?

"I don't know, buddy. I don't know."

* * *

><p>I thought about making this chapter longer, but I rather like the way it ended. My original thought was to have Misty explain why she wasn't at the Gym anymore over dinner and have her take off like that possibly the next day after her and Iris got into it and things were said and bitches-er, <em>people<em>, were slapped or whatever, but what can I say? This is how things turned out.

I've been in a very Pokemon mood lately. I can't explain it, but it's there. The music, the games, the TCG-I have this super awesome deck I made about a year ago that is virtually unbeatable and I just love using it. I haven't had to change a damn thing since I first made it, and you don't know how rare that is. Normally, when I make a Pokemon deck, me and my older brother will play a round and I'll take out a few cards, add a few more, then we'll play another round and the process will repeat itself about five or six times, but with this one I got it perfect on try one.-the anime... I'm completely obsessed with any and everything Pokemon right now. And I haven't been this obsessed since Battle Frontier came out... It's _awesome_.

Anyway... Nope, that's all I've got to say right now...

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: "Pika-pi, Pikachu, pika?" means, "What's wrong with Misty?"

Peace Out,  
>~Hisa-Ai~<p> 


	4. Where'd You Go?

**SOTD 6/19/11: **"Hear Me Now" ~Hollywood Undead~

**QOTD 6/19/11: "**When I was growing up I always wanted to be someone. Now I realize I should have been more specific."

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon and, since I've got too much on my plate right now to think of a way to make it mine, it'll have to wait 'till later...

* * *

><p>It was ten o'clock at night, three hours since Misty had fled the restaurant. Ash, Iris, Cilan, Axew, and Pikachu were in Misty's room now with Misty's egg sitting on a table in between the beds and her backpack thrown on one of the beds. After Misty left the restaurant, the rest of them had eaten in silence, paid the bill, and came back to the hotel. Ash dug through Misty backpack, which he insisted on carrying along with her egg, until he found her hotel room key. He said he was going to wait in her room for her and that Cilan and Iris could go to the other room and get some sleep or something if they wanted to, but they insisted on waiting with him, so the two were sitting on the other bed while Ash paced the room, Pikachu sitting atop Misty's egg, watching every lap he made.<p>

"Ash..." Cilan started slowly, he'd been doing that since they arrived in the room around seven-thirty, you'd think by this point he'd be either bored or tired, but he seemed just as full of energy as he had when he first started. He was worried, he didn't know where she was or what she was doing, he didn't know what was wrong with her or what he'd done to upset her, and he didn't know why she had taken off without at least her backpack-who knew what kind of trouble she might get into out there when it was so dark, and, without her Pokemon with her, how would she get out of it? Okay, she was Misty, Pokemon or not, she could handle herself, right? And it was a big city with lots of people around; if anything did happen, someone would recognize her and surely lend a helping hand. He was worrying over nothing. Still, when they called her PokeGear using the phone in her room, she hadn't answered, and that wasn't like her... Maybe he should go out and look for her...

"Maybe you should sit down and try to relax, I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"Yeah, stop being such a little kid about the whole thing! So she's a little upset about something-big deal! It happens to all of us. She'll be back."

She'll be back, she'll be back! They said the same thing over and over again. Ugh, what did they not _get_? Ash stopped and turned to face them, anger flashing in his eyes.

"You guys don't get it! When Misty's upset she doesn't run off like that, she yells, she screams, she starts arguing with me, she smacks me, she _does something_, but she didn't, she just ran off! I don't know what's wrong with her, but damnit, I'm going to find out! I'm gonna go look for her!" He turned around and was about to storm out the door when the phone started to chirp. No one moved. Iris and Cilan sat, frozen and looking at Ash. They certainly weren't going to answer it; they didn't know Misty like Ash did, so they figured he'd do it. After several rings, Ash sighed and walked over to the phone, plopped down in the chair, picked up the receiver and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hey, Ash, is Misty there?" Tracey's grim and surprised face appeared on the screen. Ash took in his background and noticed that he wasn't at Professor Oak's Lab. The walls looked a lot like the ones at the Cerulean City Gym, only they were darkened, almost as if covered in soot, so it seemed. But why would the walls of a _water type _Gym be covered in soot? Why was Tracey calling from _there?_ Why was he calling at this hour anyway? And why wasn't he at the Lab back in Pallet? Didn't Professor Oak rely on Tracey to do the five AM rounds? Usually, Tracey was in bed no later than nine-thirty... None of this was making any sense to Ash.

"Um, no..." He replied, disconnected from this conversation already. Behind Tracey, Ash noticed Daisy, Misty's oldest sister, pacing like crazy and biting her nails. Looking at someone else doing it, Ash realized how annoying it was and understood why Iris and Cilan kept trying to get him to stop, but when you were the one doing it, it wasn't so easy when it was the only thing calming your nerves and keeping you from going into all out panic mode. He barely registered the fact that Daisy-someone as obsessed with beauty and looking good as she was-was biting her nails,- clearly, not a good sign-when Tracey started talking again.

"Do you know where she is? We've been trying her PokeGear for the past two hours but she hasn't picked up, not even for Daisy's number."

Ash's eyes widened, as much as she complained about her sisters, Misty always picked up when it was one of them calling. Always. So not answering Ash's call was one thing, he got that she got pissed at him sometimes and just needed some space-even if he didn't always know what he'd done-but not answering Daisy's call was another thing entirely. What if something bad had happened to her? No, he definitely needed to get off the phone as quickly as possible and go out looking for her. There was no other option.

"No. We were having dinner a few hours ago, I asked her why she wasn't at the Gym anymore, and she got upset and ran off. We haven't seen her since. Tracey, do you know what's going on? Why she isn't there anymore?" He pleaded with his eyes for an answer. Tracey knew. Ash knew Tracey knew. What Ash didn't know was whether or not Tracey was going to tell him.

Tracey sighed and turned around for a second, then said something to Daisy as he covered the receiver. She stopped pacing and looked at him, listening intently and shaking her head. She glanced at the screen once and Ash noticed her face, he _really_ noticed it. Usually, she was all made up, make-up slathered on every square inch of her face, her blonde hair shiny and perfect, her green eyes clear and wide, and she usually glowed with perkiness, but when she glanced at the screen just then, Ash saw for the first time, a vulnerable, crumbled Daisy. Her hair was dirty, as though she hadn't washed it for days, there were dark circles under her eyes, giving away the fact that she obviously hadn't been getting much sleep lately, she had no make up on, and her green eyes, almost the same shade as Misty's, were red and puffy, like she had been crying... Something had definitely happened that no one had told him about, but what? Was it the reason Misty wasn't at the Gym anymore? Why she was so upset?

Just as Ash was about to bolt from the phone, Daisy nodded at Tracey and leaned down so he could peck her on the cheek, he said something else to her and she nodded again, then resumed pacing as Tracey turned back to the phone and uncovered the receiver. He sighed once more and just when Ash was about to blow up from not knowing, he started talking in a low, urgent voice.

"There was an accident, here at the Gym..." Ash leaned in closer to the screen; Tracey didn't seem so hot himself, now that Ash got a good look. He looked tired and there was a light dusting of the same soot that covered the walls on his forehead and cheeks, but aside from that, he seemed fine, just exasperated and tired.

"What kind of accident?" Ash whispered into the phone, ready for anything, but at the same time not knowing what to expect. What could it have been? And why was the first he was hearing of any "accident?" Why were there suddenly so many secrets surrounding one of his best friends? He thought their reunion would be a happy one, but instead, all he was feeling right now was confusion. When he thought about her during his travels when she was back at the Gym, he missed her so much sometimes it hurt, but since seeing her back at the Pokemon Center earlier that evening, the gist of his feelings were curiosity and confusion, instead of the bliss and happiness he'd been expecting. Sure, a skipped heartbeat, sweaty palms, and nervousness had managed to slip in there between the curiosity and confusion when he thought about her, but he didn't know what he should or could contribute that to. If Brock were there, he'd... _Consider _asking him, since he seemed to know one or two things about girls-it couldn't be more than that since the guy hadn't had a girlfriend for as long as Ash had known him. And sure, there was that thing with professor Ivy on the Orange Islands, but, after Brock told him the story, after swearing him to secrecy and Ash promising he would take it to the grave, he knew that didn't count as anything romantic-but since he wasn't and he couldn't stand the thought of asking Cilan and there was no way in **hell** he was going to ask _Iris_, he was on his own. But none of that mattered right now. All he was focused on was finding out what this so-called "accident" had been. _Then_ he'd work on uncovering the secrets that seemed to be separating him and his best friend.

**~ABCDFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ~**

Castelia City was intimidating during the day, and it was so easy to get lost even if you'd been living there your whole life, especially at night, that it was no wonder Misty had no idea where she was. After she had bolted from the restaurant at dinnertime, she had wandered around a little to clear her head. She had planned on going back to the hotel after she thought she was calm enough to walk through the lobby without drawing much attention to herself, but she realized that she had left her things back in the restaurant next to Ash, and since she didn't even know if they were still there, she abandoned that plan and decided to just keep walking around until she was tired. She would have to face Ash and the other two eventually, she was well aware of that, but she wanted to put it off for as long as she could. Ash was going to have questions, and she wasn't ready to answer them quite yet.

But what she didn't plan on was getting completely and utterly lost. She had a map in her backpack, but, as pointed out before, she didn't have her backpack with her at the moment, so it was a moot point. The only useful device she had on her was her PokeGear, but she didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment. It had been ringing nonstop for the past two hours, some calls from her hotel room-telling her that Ash at least was in there, as he was the only one of the three possibly in her room at the moment that had her PokeGear number-and some from the Cerulean City Gym and Daisy, and she certainly didn't want to take those calls at the moment. She... she just wanted to forget what happened, but how could she if they were constantly calling her, reminding her of what she did?

They had tried telling her over and over again, Lilly being so nice that she almost forgot this was the same sister who teased her endlessly about her looks and could be so mean to her that sometimes she felt like running away-Or, you know, smacking that pretty pink hair of hers off her head, whichever felt better. Though the tears that had been constantly pouring down their faces made Misty forget their attempts at consolation completely.

The accident had happened only a week ago, though it felt as though it happened in a different lifetime and yesterday at the same time... She thought she could push it out of her mind and act semi-normal around Ash, but now she knew was impossible. She couldn't push something like _that_ out of her mind no matter how hard she tried; she shouldn't have even tried in the first place.

Misty sighed and stopped, she was somewhere near the water. A pier, it looked like, as she spotted a single docked boat to her right. To her left, there were a few empty benches for pedestrians and tourists to rest on as they went about their day on business or while sightseeing. There were lampposts with signs advertising the numerous restaurants, buildings, and whatnot that seemed to attract people to Castelia City when they felt they needed to get away. Though why anyone would want to "get away" to some huge city in the Unova region was beyond her... Up and down both sides of the pier were potted plants that were almost in full bloom. Straight ahead was the end of the pier and the wide-open sea that Misty had fallen in love with as a child.

She walked to the end of the pier and sat down, pulling her boots and socks off her feet before dangling her legs over the edge of the pier, her feet hanging mere centimeters above the water itself. She placed her hands behind herself and looked up at the night sky, the moon was almost full and the stars, though they were diluted by the light pollution coming off the numerous tall and well-lit buildings, were still the most beautiful thing Misty had seen in a long time.

Thinking back to her childhood and the visits her family had made here, she tried to recall what this particular pier was called. If only it wasn't so dark out and she could see the color of that boat, then she'd know for sure... But for the moment, all she knew was that it was one of five piers or docks: The Sightseeing Pier, the Cruise Dock, Prime Pier, Unity Pier, and Liberty Pier, though something told her it was one of the latter three...

She looked back to the dark ocean that stretched out before her and began to contemplate how easy it would be to just dive in and swim as far as she could before she got tired or swept away by the tides. It would be a relief, in a way, to leave this life-this life as just Misty, the Ex-Cerulean City Gym Leader-as far behind as she could. But if she went missing, everyone would be looking for her, everyone knew her face, everyone knew her name, and so taking on a new identity would be impossible. She could let herself drown then-How ironic would that be? For her, a Trainer and Gym Leader specializing in Water Types, to drown in the ocean? She was a strong swimmer, all her close friends and family knew that, but the tide here in Unova was well known to be a bit stronger than the tide back in Kanto or in any other region in the world...

No, her instincts would kick in and she would start kicking toward the shore the second even a little water went down the back of her throat, either that or some passing Pokemon would save her life and take her back to the shore. Besides, she couldn't put Daisy and Lily through another death, not now, not after what happened just a week ago...

Her PokeGear began to chirp for the umpteenth time that night and finally, sick of the distraction and annoyance it was proving to be, she unclipped it from her shorts and closed her eyes, telling herself that if it was the Gym or Daisy again, she was going to chuck it out into the ocean so they could bother the Frillish, Jellicent, Alomomola, Goldeen, Dewgong, Magikarp, and all the other water Pokemon that happened to be near by instead of her, but if it was anyone else she would answer it. She opened her eyes and looked at the screen, it was Ash again. She sighed; reminding herself that a deal's a deal, even if it is with yourself. She clicked the button to answer it and said a quiet hello.

"Misty? Thank Arceus you're okay! Where are you?"

"Um..." She bit her lip, he sounded worried and relieved; she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Tracey or Daisy had called her room looking for her. If they had, odds are they talked to Ash, so now he probably knew all about what had happened. He probably hated her right now just as much as her sisters and Tracey did...

"Come on, Mist, I'm worried about you. I've been in your hotel room for the past three hours pacing and worrying my ass off, thinking you got lost or into some kind of trouble. If you don't tell me, I'll just tear this whole damn city apart until I find you, and you know that. Wouldn't it be easier and less embarrassing for you to just tell me where you are?"

Misty sighed, he had a point... "Fine. I'm at the pier."

There was a pause as Ash said something to Iris and Cilan, then he asked, with a hint of bemusement in his voice. "Which pier?"

"I don't know..."

Another pause followed her statement, this one longer than the last. Misty clutched her PokeGear so hard in her hand she thought it might break in her grasp. But then finally, Ash came back on.

"I guess I'll just try all of them. Stay where you are, please?"

"Fine." She sighed, clicking the button once again. She clipped it back onto her shorts and stared out at the ocean, nothing to do now but wait.

* * *

><p>Hmm, tragedy struck the Cerulean City Gym, so it seems. Might be why Misty's been acting so funky, huh? So what do you think happened? I probably won't get the next chapter up anytime soon. I might start typing it up tomorrow, but odds are I won't get it up until sometime next month.<p>

Oh, yes, I almost forgot: the string of letters that separates the two parts of the chapter-there's a couple letter missing from there; could you tell at just a glance which two they are?

Happy Father's Day! You know, to all the fathers out there. What are you guys doing today, anyway? My dad's just gonna chill in his room all day and watch TV, as per usual. Just another day. I said "Happy Father's Day," to him when he came out of his room about a half hour ago and he was just all, "Thank you, dear." Then he mumbled and grumbled about how it's "just another day." At least I know where I get my indifference about birthdays and such from...

My mother is pissed. She's always mad at me for some reason or another nowadays. I think it's because she's just now realizing that I'm not some little six year old she can boss around anymore, I question everything she asks me to do and when she says, "Because I said so!" I tell her, "That's not a good enough reason anymore. I'm not seven, I'm sixteen; you're going to need a legit reason." And she gets all huffy. She thinks when a mother says, "Because I said so!" that should be reason enough, but I don't think it is. I'll be seventeen this November, and eighteen _next _November, and she acts like it's _my _fault I'm growing up and becoming more independent. Sometimes I just feel like screaming, "Mom, chill, it's not my fault, okay? Trust me, if I could go back in time to when I was seven and stay that way forever, _I would_, but I can't so stop blaming me for something I have no control over!" but I have learned that when you talk to that woman you have to watch your words otherwise she gets all pissy and is a total bitch to everyone for a few days and the person who pissed her off gets the cold shoulder from everyone else until she's not pissed anymore. So, needless to say, I've been given the cold shoulder quite a few times these past couple of years. I think I might have gone completely insane if I weren't a writer and didn't have other worlds to escape into.

But, you know, this time she might also be mad at me because of something else I said. The other day I was in the kitchen with her and she was all, "You're just like I was when I was your age." Which offended me like you would not believe! That had to be the meanest thing anyone's ever said to me! Seriously, it really stung. Anyway, I replied, without thinking, of course, but, might I add, as calmly as I could given the circumstances,

"That's just mean, Mom. That's really mean." At the time, I was just so mad at her that I didn't stop to think things through. I thought she was being serious and that somewhere along the line, by trying to _not_ be like her, I had actually _become_ her. And that just wasn't going to fly with me. She seemed offended but amused as she asked me,

"How is that mean? It's the truth! I was exactly the same way when I was your age!"

"Maybe I don't want the truth!" A total lie, but how was she supposed to know that?

Anyway, I think her giving me attitude these past couple of days has something to do with that, but can you blame me? I don't want to be told I'm just like her. I don't want to be compared to her in any way, shape or form... That probably does sound mean, now that I see the words out there in black and white, but I can't take them back, and I might not want to...

When I was in my room later that night thinking about it, writing about it in my journal, and trying desperately not to cry, I realized what she said just then was a total lie. She was nothing like me when she was my age. When she was sixteen, she was out doing drugs, drinking alcohol, having sex, sneaking out, getting into trouble like you would not believe...! I've heard numerous stories about her from numerous different sources, so that bit she told me about me being like her at my age was a lie. I tend to isolate myself from other individuals, I lock myself in my room for hours on end just to write and be alone with my thoughts, I read, my favorite poet is Robert Frost, I've never gotten drunk and put on a Barbie Fashion show-I've seen pictures and I wanted to immediately wash my brain with bleach in hopes of erasing it afterwards-I've never done any kind of drug or anything... The only thing I have in common with her when she was my age is I skipped school and cut a few classes when I went to public school. And I didn't go drink in a cemetery like she did with her cousins and _younger_ sister, I just walked around, got breakfast at McDonald's every now and again, but mostly just walked around taking everything in, then I'd show up at home around four-the time I usually got home from school anyway-with a Big Jack or some fries from McDonald's to make it look like I'd gone to school and decided to reward myself or something. Would've worked forever if it weren't for the teachers and my parents. The one thing all teachers seem to be good for is snitching, but I digress...

I don't know why she would lie about that, but she did and now I'm all confused… Parents suck sometimes, don't they? Oh well, when things get tough with them I keep reminding myself, "You're going to be the one picking, and probably paying for, their nursing home or retirement home or whatever condo they wanna live in in Florida someday; you'll have all the power then. If you can just hold out a few more years it _will_ be worth it." And then I kind of feel better.

Hmm, anyway, that's about all I've got to say for now… Rather long A/N, isn't it? Oh, well! No one said you had to read it; I just needed to vent.

Peace out,

~Hisa-Ai~


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